Forbidden City comparison shots go viral

A set of photos showing old images of the Forbidden City in early 20th century blended with current scenes has gone viral online.

A magazine run by Palace Museum published the photos via its official Sina Weibo account on Thursday. The imaes were then forwarded on Sina Weibo, a microblogging site, more than 20,000 times and picked up by major Chinese news websites.

Some of the photos feature the Last Emperor Puyi, of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912), Empress Wanrong, and Reginald Fleming Johnston, diplomat and tutor to Puyi. Magazine staff recreated the images so the ancient scenes blended with current scenes of modern tourists visiting the imperial palace.